Lazy Lentil Burgers

These Lazy Lentil burgers are a delicious, easy Sunday comfort food.

Dairy Free, Nut Free and Egg Free

Perfect for lunch box left overs too!

Let's face it, many of us don’t always feel like cooking, even though if you live with food allergies or coeliac disease, you often find you need to cook a lot more meals from scratch.

These Lazy lentil burgers are simple, healthy and easy to make with little effort. And they are economical too! 

Ingredients:

1 x can of Puy/ French brown lentils (one cup of cooked French lentils) 

½ tsp cumin ground

Fresh herbs – around a tablespoon finely diced parsley and/or coriander depending on your taste. 

3 x small- medium Potatoes quality, organic waxy potatoes such as nicola

Rice crumbs or safe bread crumbs for you

½ -very finely diced brown medium onion or shallots

1/2 small grated carrot (optional)
Good pinch salt to taste

Optional extras – turmeric, coriander spice, curry powder, chilli – great for adults
Oil for cooking

Method:

1. Cook your 3 medium waxy potatoes whole, in hot water (this is part of the laziness and keeps in the flavour too)

2. Meanwhile, saute onions in a minimum amount of olive oil on a low heat for around 10-15 minutes until caramelised. Next add any spices, grated carrot and then your French lentils.  Ensure your mix is fairly, dry you don't want too much liquid in your lentil mix. Turn off the heat.

3. When cooked, strain potatoes very well, and even pat dry. Less liquid the better. Mash potatoes roughly, with the back of a fork, not too smooth. We don’t need the mash to be super creamy.

Now, here is the only “tricky” part:

4. Combine your lentil mix and potato smash mash, fairly gently. Add your salt to taste. Then roll into balls - pat with your hands into a nice shape - around 5 cm round is good but you can make them bigger. And around 2-3 cm thick.

The mix should be more potato than lentil - so they will keep shape, if we get the mix too watery, or not enough potato they may fall apart in the pan. They should be fairly firm, almost like a dough consistency.

As we are not using egg or meat as a binder, we need to work fast.  You need to make your burgers while the potato lentil mix is warm or even as hot as you can handle, to make a nice firm mix.

5. Coat in your crumbs. Again, this needs to be done while mix is hot/warm, so the crumbs stick to the burgers. After you have coated in crumbs, straight to the fridge on a plate, not touching.

6. Lazy chill time

At least an hour should be fine, or until cooled completely.

7.Fry your lazy lentil burgers in shallow medium to high oil, until brown and crispy. Allow to sit for a minute or two ... enjoy! 

Serve with your favourite salad, flat bread or yoghurt 

Great with a little squeeze of lemon or lime

Fantastic snack for your lunch box or picnic. Great finger food for children. 

  

Notes:

If you’re not so lazy, soak some dried Puy lentils overnight, and cook gently, in a light chicken stock if you have it, for an even tastier result. You can also try adding to the lentil mix wheat free, cruelty free or vegan rashers of bacon, finely diced for extra saltiness.

Adults might like to add more spice too!

Gluten free

Wheat free

Dairy Free

Nut free
Vegan